Scottish student wins 'UK Mountain Photo' of the Year award with image taken on £10 camera

00:01, 30 Oct 2014

ByScotland Now

ROSS Campbell, from Glasgow, has won Trail magazine's award after entering with an image he took on a camera bought from a supermarket for £10.

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Ross's winning picture of the Ben Lui mountain

A SCOTS student has won Trail magazine's 'UK Mountain Photo of the Year' award - with an image he took on a camera bought from a supermarket for £10.

27-year-old Ross Campbell, from Glasgow, entered the annual competition with his atmospheric image of a winter wild camp at the foot of Scotland’s Ben Lui mountain.

Ross's photo was chosen as the runaway winner with 23 per cent of the overall vote.

The Glasgow University student was rewarded with over £2,000 of Nikon photography gear – a significant upgrade on his current bargain camera.

There were over 1,000 entries in the competition, with the winning image chosen by an online poll of Trail readers.

Ross, who is studying mechanical engineering, said: “It’s mind-blowing to win something like this. I was honoured just to be on the final short-list – I never expected people to vote for me. It was my first ever solo wild camp and the first time I’d used the camera, which I bought for £10 in Tesco’s Boxing Day sale.

Winning photographer Ross Campbell

"I live close to the Highlands and the weather forecast looked good that evening, so I drove to Cononish Glen, cycled 10km to the base of Ben Lui, then set up my tent.

"It was a very cold night but the weather was great, with a full moon lighting up the mountains, so I spent all night taking photos. I’m just glad I came back with a few decent shots!”

The competition was launched in March, with readers asked to submit images that show off everything they love about the UK mountains.

Trail’s panel of expert judges – including mountaineer Alan Hinkes OBE and top outdoor filmmaker Alastair Lee – cut the entries down to a short-list of 20.

The final decision was then put in the hands of the public, with thousands voting in the online poll.

The results are printed in Trail’s December 2014 issue, available in print and online from 30 October, and the top 10 images can be viewed online at www.lfto.com/photocomp

Simon Ingram, Trail editor, said: “The quality of entries was amazing: we had every level of enthusiast submitting, from the professional to the casual phone-snapper. What was brilliant about all of them was that the common thread was a deep connection with the British mountains.

"Ross’s image captured a real ‘moment’ – and the fact that he won with comparatively basic equipment just goes to show that anyone who goes to the mountains can come back with something special, be it actual memories or photographic ones! We can’t wait for next year’s competition.”

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